noffsinger Chapter 536 The Cracks Spread
Chapter 536 The Cracks Spread
The night was as dark as ink, but the city lights were still on. Inside the "war room" at the Lin Group headquarters, dark alarms flashed on the projection screen—an anonymous document from the "CR Consortium" had been uploaded, pointing directly to Gu Yanchuan: during his fight against Lin Chuyue, he had secretly received financial assistance from CR and had helped them secure company resources.
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I. Gu Yanchuan's Questioning
At one o'clock in the morning, Gu Yanchuan and Lin Chuyue stood side by side in the center of the war room, holding printed CR documents in their hands.
Gu Yanchuan's face darkened, and he slammed the file heavily on the table: "Who is behind this? I've refused them countless times, how could this be...?"
Lin Chuyue's eyes were fixed on the screen: "In the last round of public opinion storm, Lin Yun's 'Sinking Sand Plan' was in cooperation with Cheng Yi Foundation, and this time it's CR's turn. It seems that she has brought all the external forces into the fray."
Gu Yanchuan took a deep breath: "Do you trust me or not? If you have doubts, then check the data. Otherwise, don't talk to me about cooperation anymore."
His voice trembled, and for the first time, he revealed a barely perceptible disappointment to Lin Chuyue.
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II. Lin Yun's New Alliance
Meanwhile, inside a top-tier nightclub in Pudong, Lin Yun was drinking with a mysterious CR executive. The man smiled broadly and raised his glass, saying:
“Ms. Lin, your strategy is quite remarkable. This document is a ‘compensation’ for our years of friendship. As long as you continue to open up the gaps within the Lin Group for us, CR’s future investments in East China will be unstoppable.”
Lin Yun took a sip of champagne, her eyes flashing with weariness and excitement: "For me, this is not just revenge, but also the redemption of my family—if I can sit in that chair, no one can stop me."
CR executives nodded: "Next, we will bring in more anonymous hackers and media manipulators to make the global market focus on Lin's 'financial scandal' overnight."
The two raised their glasses, the liquid inside swirling like a long-planned storm.
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III. Tang Nian's Fall and Struggle
Back at the company, Tang Nian was alone in front of her computer, looking anxious. She had just found a clue from the internal system—the CR document originated from an external vulnerability she had overlooked while repairing the server yesterday, caused by a backdoor code she had mistakenly let slip.
“It’s all my fault that they’ve been ruined…” She held down her phone, hesitating to call Lin Chuyue, but then refrained from dialing.
At that moment, a new message popped up on her phone screen: from an anonymous account, containing only one sentence—"Tang Nian, if you want to save your life, don't save them. Continue to cover up the loopholes, otherwise the photos and chat logs will be sent to the media."
She closed her eyes, trembling, her heart filled with torment—how should she choose her most trusted assistant?
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IV. The Disunity within the Trust Committee
As dawn broke, the Trust Management Committee urgently convened in the headquarters' "Joint Meeting Room." Lin Chuyue, Gu Yanchuan, Shen Longyan, and several core directors sat around. Just as the three were about to discuss countermeasures, they were suddenly presented with a voting document—the board of directors had a proposal to immediately suspend Gu Yanchuan and CR's related projects and to initiate a temporary review of the three-party trust.
The initiators were Lin Yun and several long-time shareholders she had recruited.
Lin Chuyue immediately stood up and questioned loudly, "What tricks are you playing? This is just a new combination of Lin Yun and CR, intended to attack from both sides!"
An old shareholder sneered: "You and President Gu have been colluding in private far too many times, bypassing the board of directors. This time, we need to re-examine the entire trust system!"
Gu Yanchuan stood up, his face pale: "Since you want to investigate, then let's also discuss the Pang family's interest-free loan project with 'Dawn Biotechnology' in person. I won't admit defeat in this game."
Shen Yan slowly said, "Everyone, these are all traps. Review is necessary, but if you continue to follow Lin Yun's script, my 'scepter clause' will also be invalidated—that would be the real collapse."
Amidst the fierce power struggles on the board, with the three parties exchanging blows, the cracks in the trust committee are widening.
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V. Gu Yonghui's Ultimate Pressure
At noon, an urgent report came from the Gu Group headquarters: Gu Yonghui had come to the Lin Group to hold a tripartite meeting with Lin Chuyue, Gu Yanchuan, and Lin Yun.
Gu Yonghui calmly walked into the trust management committee room, holding his mobile phone: "I just received a call from senior CR executives. They have disseminated the documents to a wider international network. Not only the Lin family, but the Gu family will also be subject to joint investigation."
He looked up at Gu Yanchuan: "Son, everything I gained back then by using your mother's trust, do you want to exchange it all for the truth now?"
Gu Yanchuan remained silent. Lin Chuyue looked at the father and son, feeling both pity and anger.
Gu Yonghui turned to Lin Yun: "Yun'er, I love you, but family and company are more important. If we join forces with CR again this time, it will be like breaking through the last line of defense. Are you willing to bear the consequences?"
Lin Yun's expression changed drastically, her chest heaving violently. After a long while, she whispered, "Dad, I... I just wanted to prove myself!"
Gu Yonghui took a deep breath and said calmly, "Proof is fine, but don't ruin everything! I want to see a new joint statement before 10 p.m. tonight—kick CR out, reorganize the trust commissioners, and plug all the loopholes. Otherwise, the 'Tianyao Emergency' and 'Shuguang Trust' that your mother and I founded back then will become the target of public criticism."
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VI. On the verge of breaking the deadlock
As night fell, the lights outside the floor-to-ceiling windows on the top floor of the Lin Group headquarters were bright, but they also reflected tired yet resolute figures.
Lin Chuyue turned to Gu Yanchuan and Shen Yanyan and whispered, "Ten o'clock tonight is the time for the final blow. We need to come up with a perfect plan in front of Gu Yonghui—first, fix the backdoor that Tang Nian leaked, then jointly issue a new statement with the Gu Group's senior management, and then use this as leverage to force CR and Lin Yun to back down."
Gu Yanchuan clenched his fist: "I am in charge of the internal affairs of the Gu Group. I will vote on everything at tonight's meeting and support you."
Shen Yanyan's gaze was deep and stern: "I will retrieve the original copy of 'Tian Suan Lu' from the legal counsel's office and release it simultaneously with my mother's will to ensure that every procedure is impeccable."
Tang Nian stood at the door, clutching a hard drive in her hand: "President Lin, this is the backdoor log I just resealed, as well as the source of that anonymous threat—I found out it was sent from Cheng Yi Foundation's private VPN node. We can counter it."
Lin Chuyue took a deep breath, her eyes blazing: "Gather all our strength and make 10 o'clock today the moment to break the deadlock. Even if the storm ahead is fierce, we must clench our fists and face it head-on."
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